Screenplay, Satoko Okudera; producers, Inaba Naoto, Kikuchi Miyoshi; cinematographer, Ryuto Kikuchi; editor, Fushima Shinichi; music, Watanabe Takashi. Tokyo: Distributed by Pony Canyon; produced by Film-makers Inc., 2014. 1 online resource (134 mins.) In Japanese and English with English subtitles. Url: www.vancouver-asahi.jp.
Nikkei baseball is perhaps one of the most overlooked and underappreciated chapters in baseball history. Thanks to director Yuya Ishii and his excellent work on the award-winning film The Vancouver Asahi, one of the most important and celebrated Nikkei teams is introduced to a new generation of baseball fans in both Japan and North America.
The movie is based on the true story of the Vancouver Asahi, a Japanese-Canadian baseball team founded in 1914. Ishii and screenwriter Satoko Okudera collaborated to tell a story that compresses the team’s 27-year history into a 134-minute script.
The Asahi played their games at the Powell Street Grounds in the heart of Vancouver’s Japantown. Today their former ball field is known as Oppenheimer Park, where a commemorative plaque was unveiled in 2011. The plaque summarizes the team’s significance and inspiration for the film:
Asahi Baseball Team – Between 1914 and 1941, at a time when Japanese Canadians faced racism, Vancouver’s Asahi Baseball team thrilled fans by winning championships in senior amateur leagues. Its signature offensive strategy, “brain ball,” emphasized bunting and speed on the bases, reflected the values of discipline and team work, and, coupled with sparkling defence, levelled the playing field with more powerful opponents. The Asahi became a symbol of the Japanese Canadian struggle for equality and respect, and despite being disbanded during the Second World War internment, left a legacy of inspiration for future generations.
The movie begins in 1937 Japantown of Vancouver, British Columbia, where racial tension and a lack of economic equality create hardships for Japanese Canadians. The hero of the film is fictitious ballplayer Reji “Reggie” Kasahara (Satoshi Tsumabuki), the son of a hardworking, seamstress mother (Eri Ishida) and an alcoholic, labourer father (Koichi Saito). Reji works at the local sawmill and plays shortstop for the Asahi. Despite being perennial losers, the Asahi are the pride of Japantown.
Other members of the Asahi ball club include Roi “Roy” Naganishi (Kazuya Kamenashi), the team’s ace pitcher who works as a fisherman; Kei Kitamoto (Ryo Katsuji), the team’s second baseman and co-worker of Reji; Tom Miyake (Yusuke Kamiji), catcher and tofu shop worker, and third baseman Frank Nojima (Sosuke Ikematsu) who works at a local hotel. With the exception of the film’s star Satoshi Tsumabuki, all of the actors cast to play Asahi team members are experienced ballplayers in Japan.
Despite being disciplined and determined, the members of the Asahi team are physically outmatched by their taller and stronger white opponents. As the new team captain, Reggie recommends that his teammates adopt a strategy that involves more bunts and stealing bases. The Asahi team finally starts winning, and the local sportswriters soon call the Asahi smarter style of play “brain ball.” Fans of all races eventually start to cheer for the Asahi and buy tickets to watch their gutsy, entertaining brand of baseball.
Despite their success on the field, off the field struggles for equality continue. Reggie’s sister Emmy (Mitsuki Takahata) tries to assimilate by working and making friends within the Caucasian community, but is still treated like a second-class citizen. Reggie’s father seeks work to make enough money to send back home to relatives in Japan, but finds that his job opportunities are limited due to his age and failing health. Racial tensions are made even worse when the Asahi players get into a fight with the opposing white team after one of their batters is beaned with an inside pitch.
The climax of the film centres on the championship game between the Asahi and the formidable Caucasian team from neighbouring Mount Pleasant. By the end of the game, the Asahi have won the hearts of fans—Nikkei and Caucasian alike. With the game tied and runners in scoring position, the Asahi batter hits the ball over the head of a charging third baseman to score the winning run and secure the championship for Japantown. The movie closes with the outbreak of World War II, the immediate hostile reactions of the Caucasians, and eventual incarceration of the Japanese-Canadian community.
The Vancouver Asahi movie is a must see for baseball fans or anyone with an interest in WWII-era history and North America-Japan relations. The recreation of late 1930s Vancouver Japantown, throwback baseball uniforms and equipment, and wardrobe are both visually stunning and historically believable. Aficionados of Japanese baseball will also appreciate the finer attention to details like the Asahi coach taking time to clean the bats and equipment, a practice not commonly found in North American baseball.
Unfortunately, this attention to detail is not consistent throughout the film. For example, viewers are given the impression that the ballpark is the home field of the Asahi, yet the Asahi are listed as the visiting team on the scoreboard. Also, in what appears to be a tribute to pitcher Hideo Nomo, actor Kazuya Kamenashi mimics Nomo’s trademark “Tatsumaki” (Tornado) windup delivery when portraying Asahi ace Roy Naganishi. For those who know the modern game, seeing Nomo’s windup on a 1930s-era pitcher is both anachronistic and somewhat distracting.
Film critic Mark Schilling of The Japan Times suggests that the “for all the rah-rah moments of Asahi triumph … the subplots occupy much screen time and make the film a rather downbeat viewing experience.” Moviegoers in both Japan and the US appear to agree with Schilling’s assessment, rating the film three out of five stars.
Perhaps like anyone who plays the game of baseball, The Vancouver Asahi is not perfect. It is, however, excellent. Despite its few moments of failure, the film is a winner, especially for those who love baseball and stories about the underdog coming out on top. Ultimately, director Yuya Ishii’s homage to the Vancouver Asahi is an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with their story and their legacy.
For those wanting to take a deeper dive into the history of the Vancouver Asahi after watching this film, they are encouraged to view the 2003 documentary Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story (National Film Board of Canada), read the book More Than a Baseball Team: The Saga of the Vancouver Asahi, by Ted Y. Furomoto and Douglas W. Jackson; visit the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (where the Asahi were inducted in 2003), and visit Oppenheimer Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia (Japantown).
Bill Staples, Jr.
Nisei Baseball Research Project, Chandler, USA
pp. 509-511